Department of Commerce September 8, 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This proposed rule would establish Federal permitting and reporting requirements for all commercial bottomfish vessels fishing in the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) around the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). The proposed rule would also close certain EEZ waters around the CNMI to bottomfish fishing by vessels over 40 ft (12.2 m) long. Vessel monitoring system units would be installed on these vessels, and the operators of these vessels would be required to submit Federal sales reports in addition to catch reports. This proposed rule is intended to ensure adequate collection of information about the CNMI commercial bottomfish fishery, provide for sustained community participation, and maintain a consistent supply of locally-caught bottomfish to CNMI markets and seafood consumers. Combined, these measures are intended to prevent the depletion of bottomfish stocks in the CNMI, and to sustain the fisheries that depend on them.

This notice sets forth objectives, procedures and application review criteria associated with support for domestic trade shows by the International Buyer Program (IBP) of the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC). This announcement covers selection for International Buyer Program participation for calendar year 2010 (January 1, 2010 through December 31, 2010). The International Buyer Program was established to bring international buyers together with U.S. firms by promoting leading U.S. trade shows in industries with high export potential. The International Buyer Program emphasizes cooperation between the DOC and trade show organizers to benefit U.S. firms exhibiting at selected events and provides practical, hands-on assistance such as export counseling and market analysis to U.S. companies interested in exporting. The assistance provided to show organizers includes worldwide overseas promotion of selected shows to potential international buyers, end- users, representatives and distributors. The worldwide promotion is executed through the offices of the DOC U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service (hereinafter referred to as the Commercial Service) in more than 70 countries representing the United States' major trading partners, and also in U.S. Embassies in countries where the Commercial Service does not maintain offices. The DOC expects to select approximately 40 trade shows for the January 1, 2010 through December 31, 2010 period from among applicants to the program. Shows selected for the International Buyer Program will provide a venue for U.S. companies interested in expanding their sales into international markets. Successful show organizer applicants will be required to enter into a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the DOC. The MOA constitutes an agreement between the DOC and the show organizer specifying which responsibilities are to be undertaken by the DOC as part of the International Buyer Program and, in turn, which responsibilities are to be undertaken by the show organizer. Anyone requesting application information will be sent a sample copy of the MOA along with the application and a copy of this Federal Register Notice. The responsibilities to be undertaken by the DOC will be carried out by the Commercial Service.

In response to a request from an interested party, the Department of Commerce (the Department) is conducting an administrative review of the antidumping duty order on carbazole violet pigment 23 from India. The review covers two manufacturers/exporters, Alpanil Industries and Pidilite Industries Limited. The period of review is December 1, 2006, through November 30, 2007. We have preliminarily determined that Alpanil Industries and Pidilite Industries Limited made sales below normal value. We invite interested parties to comment on these preliminary results. Parties who submit comments in this review are requested to submit with each argument a statement of each issue and a brief summary of the argument.

On August 29, 2008, Nacional de Acero S.A. de C.V. (``Nacional'') filed a First Request for Panel Review with the United States Section of the NAFTA Secretariat pursuant to Article 1904 of the North American Free Trade Agreement. Panel review was requested of the Final Injury Determination made by the United States International Trade Commission respecting Light-Walled Rectangular Pipe and Tube from China, Korea, and Mexico. The determination was published in the Federal Register (73 FR 45244) on August 4, 2008. The NAFTA Secretariat has assigned Case Number USA-MEX-2008-1904-04 to this request.

The Mid-Atlantic Council's (MAFMC) Dogfish Monitoring Committee will hold a public meeting.

We, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), propose to designate critical habitat for the threatened Southern distinct population segment of North American green sturgeon (Southern DPS of green sturgeon) pursuant to section 4 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Specific areas proposed for designation include: coastal U.S. marine waters within 110 meters (m) depth from Monterey Bay, California (including Monterey Bay), north to Cape Flattery, Washington, including the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Washington, to its United States boundary; the Sacramento River, lower Feather River, and lower Yuba River in California; the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and Suisun, San Pablo, and San Francisco bays in California; the lower Columbia River estuary; and certain coastal bays and estuaries in California (Humboldt Bay), Oregon (Coos Bay, Winchester Bay, and Yaquina Bay), and Washington (Willapa Bay and Grays Harbor). The areas proposed for designation comprise approximately 325 miles (524 km) of freshwater river habitat, 1,058 square miles (2,739 sq km) of estuarine habitat, 11,927 square miles (30,890 sq km) of marine habitat, and 136 square miles (352 sq km) of habitat within the Yolo and Sutter bypasses (Sacramento River, CA). We propose to exclude the following areas from designation because the benefits of exclusion outweigh the benefits of inclusion and exclusion will not result in the extinction of the species: coastal U.S. marine waters within 110 m depth from the California/Mexico border north to Monterey Bay, CA, and from the Alaska/Canada border northwest to the Bering Strait; and certain coastal bays and estuaries in California (Tomales Bay, Elkhorn Slough, Noyo Harbor, and the estuaries to the head of the tide in the Eel and Klamath/Trinity rivers), Oregon (Tillamook Bay and the estuaries to the head of the tide in the Rogue, Siuslaw, and Alsea rivers), and Washington (Puget Sound). The areas excluded from the proposed designation comprise approximately 1,057 square miles (2,738 sq km) of estuarine habitat and 396,917 square miles (1,028,015 sq km) of marine habitat. We acknowledge that there may be costs incurred by those planning to undertake activities in certain areas, in particular Coo Bay, OR, or other areas along the lower Columbia River estuary, as a result of this proposed critical habitat designation for the Southern DPS of green sturgeon that were not captured in our draft economic report. These activities include, but are not limited to, liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects, hydropower activities, and alternative energy projects. We solicit comment on what these additional costs might be and will consider any additional information received in developing our final determination to designate or exclude areas from critical habitat for the Southern DPS of green sturgeon.